Measuring heat transfer parameters in high pressure and high temperature environments is a difficult task. One such environment is in a gas turbine engine where heat flux through various engine components, such as turbine blades and combustor liner walls, is an important parameter for engine control, design, and maintenance. Heat transfer parameters may be obtained based on temperature data collected at different portions of a component. Reliable and accurate temperature measurements are desirable in such applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,006,544 to Holmes describes an apparatus for testing failure of a material used in a jet engine. The apparatus uses one or more miniature jet engine components made from a material used in a full-size jet engine. Because components of a miniature jet engine attain similar temperatures and exhausts to those exhibited by a full-size jet engine, the miniature jet engine components provide an effective test vehicle for testing of components and particular materials used to manufacture such components for a jet engine. The stress fields experienced by a component of a miniature jet engine are geometrically similar in both gradient and magnitude to those found in full-size engines, even though the volumes of material involved in the test components are far smaller.